REVIEW 167: PAULANER OKTOBERFEST MÄRZEN

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Germany

BREWERY:  Paulaner Brauerei GmbH & Co. KG 

STYLE:  Märzen/Oktoberfest

ABV:  5.8%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 11.2-oz. bottles, $13.99

SERVING:  11.2-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. 2 1/2" head with a normal pour. A slow pour got less than an inch. A fast one on beer #3 got about three full inches, if only briefly. So-so retention.

APPEARANCE:  An Oktoberfest that doesn't stand out visually. Light copper body, kind of like a penny, that borders on dark gold. Beige-white head. Transparent with minor bubbling. No lacing around the glass whatsoever.

AROMA:  Somewhat grassy, with a "fresh veggie" vibe to it. A hint of grain and, possibly, a placebo note of hops if you're looking for it. Honestly smells like it could pass for a macrolager from this side of the Atlantic. 

TASTE:  An Oktoberfest whose taste contradicts its aroma. Roasty from the get-go. Forward notes of barley. Throughline of subtle richness. Increasingly hoppy toward the end, but still falls well short of IPA territory. Somewhat syrupy and fusel finish with a crescendo of caramel and a bit of generic spice. Smooth overall mouthfeel with standard carbonation. Goes down fast.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Thankfully, I have an open mind. I don't let a questionable first impression spoil an entire experience. Otherwise, I'd likely be shitting all over this.

Simple but effective taste profile. Doesn't do too much, but what it does do, it does damn well. Say that ten times fast. I dare you.

Paulaner is one of six German breweries who officially supply beer for Oktoberfest. They are not to be confused with the makers of "all-fruit." What's all-fruit? It's a fruity spread for toast, muffins, bagels, et al. But please, please, don't call it jelly.



GRADE:   B+

REVIEW 166: YUENGLING OKTOBERFEST

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Pottsville, PA!)

BREWERY:  Yuengling Brewery

STYLE:  Märzen/Oktoberfest

ABV:  5.45%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 12-oz. bottles, $9.99

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. A normal pour yielded a solid two-inch head. A slower pour yielded almost the same. Good retention.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent but a bit hazy. Color is a dark tan bordering upon light copper territory. Standard off-white tinted head, sudsy but somewhat dense. Thin but steady bubbling. Prominent, splotchy lacing. 

AROMA:  Toasted grains and subdued spice notes like allspice and cinnamon. A little malty. Effectively no hop presence.

TASTE:  Thin body and somewhat watery mouthfeel. Very, very easy to drink--I'll give it that. Standard carbonation. As far as the actual taste, well, it's a little slow to take hold. The early going is basically null and void; toasted grains enter the fray mid-palate. Faint traces of generic spices toward the end. Aftertaste also has a bit of appleskin character. Practically no hop presence. On the whole, this isn't much different from a regular Yuengling. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  I don't care how "storied" a brewery may be. Average is average. And Yuengling is usually just that . . . at best. They may as well be Leinenkugel's at this point. That's how unexciting their entire line of beers really is.

Bleh, bleh, and more bleh.

SPECIAL NOTE:  I reviewed this beer by request from a girl I know. I asked if I could use her photo at the end of the review, and she declined. You know, make her famous, at least among my two or three dozen regular readers? Oh well. It's possible that I will start having people "model" the beers I review. An idea has been spawned, my little droogs.




GRADE:   C-

Who asked Crockett to review this beer?

REVIEW 165: LEINENKUGEL'S OKTOBERFEST

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin)

BREWERY:  The Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

STYLE:  Märzen/Oktoberfest

ABV:  5.1%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $5.50

SERVING:  Pint glass. Not much head, maybe half an inch. Mediocre retention at best.

APPEARANCE:  Copper-mahogany tone and as transparent a beer that dark a color can possibly be. Off-white head, while it exists. Very little bubbling and no lacing whatsoever.

AROMA:  Bready with a whiff of appleskin. Perhaps a touch of some sort of spice. Toasty. Simple but decent.

TASTE:  Slightly filling with mellow carbonation. Soft mouthfeel. Hop factor is minimal, which is par for the course with Oktoberfests. Toasty, particularly toward the back. Malty and grainy finish that leads to a sweet aftertaste rife with appleskin notes and a slight accent of generic spice (seemingly a cross between cinnamon and allspice). Seems to hold back too much in every respect; could stand be more assertive. Goes down kind of like a bastardized Yuengling.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  "I like Leinenkugel's, even if they are a bit of a joke in the craft brewing community." From a Crockett confidante, on a private message board way back in 2009. Hey, I didn't say it; he did.

But I must say I agree with his general sentiment. In virtually every beer category, I have found the Leinie entry to serve as a pale imitation of the true greats. They do nothing wrong. They do nothing well. Bleh.




GRADE:   C-

HOCKEY SEASON = MORE BEER CONSUMPTION FOR CROCKETT

Greetings and salutations.

It has been almost two full months since my last review, as I have been busy with other commitments and needed to conserve finances. But tonight is the start of hockey season. That changes everything.

Beer is my beverage of choice while taking in a game. It follows, then, that with the upcoming slate of hockey games over the next several months, my review activity will return to (more or less) its former level of output.

GO FLYERS!

--Crock

REVIEW 164: ICELANDIC WHITE ALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Iceland

BREWERY:  Einstök Ölgerð

STYLE:  Witbier

ABV:  5.2%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 11.2-oz. bottles, $11.99

SERVING:  11.2-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. A pour of normal speed led to a head of three full inches; a slower one cut it in half. Good retention.

APPEARANCE:  Very pale, yellowish straw color. Hazy and cloudy, although it becomes clearer as you drink it. Spongy white head. Thin but steady bubbling. Very, very little lacing.

AROMA:  Prominent coriander notes, but orange zest seems to hog the spotlight here. Wheat, malt, and lemon essences are noticeable as well.

TASTE:  As with the aroma, zesty orange peel is the through-line, with an uptick of it in the aftertaste, which is quite lemony and yeasty overall. Mild at the onset, with a somewhat thin mouthfeel and middle-of-the-road carbonation. Wheat and coriander notes are makeable but very shy; they're almost bullied into submission by lemon and orange rind, and yeast. What's there is likeable but not ideally balanced. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This is a witbier, but at best, it comes off like a compromised one. It's like Blue Moon and Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy mixed together. Nothing wrong with that; but it's a little misleading.

This is a brew with a decent enough taste and it's very easy to put away. But it's too heavy on the lemon and orange zest and doesn't have enough actual witbier character. It's what I call an "identity crisis" beer. I like it, but it's the worst of the three I've had so far from the Einstök brewery in Iceland. 




GRADE:   B-

REVIEW 163: ICELANDIC ARCTIC PALE ALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Iceland

BREWERY:  Einstök Ölgerð

STYLE:  APA

ABV:  5.6%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 11.2-oz. bottles, $11.99

SERVING:  11.2-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. A normal pour yielded a head of an inch and a half; a slower pour whittled it down to an even inch, more or less. Great head retention.

APPEARANCE:  Translucent body with a caramel tint that could also be described as light copper or amber. Slightly off-white head. Faint bubbling. Good and fairly consistent lacing around the inside of the glass.

AROMA:  Balanced yet subtle aroma. Mainly pressed grains and (seemingly) appleskin. Hoppy accents. Rounded out by a tinge of lemon, orange zest, and some other kind of spice, probably allspice or cinnamon. A bit roasty.

TASTE:  Well-attenuated body in terms of texture and taste. Carbonation, though, is a little sneaky; it's barely there, but can surprise you if you hold a sip too long. Entry is a little blah, but it rights itself by mid-palate, taking on an appleskin-malt profile. Finish is somewhat fusel-like, and not too dry. Aftertaste continues the apple-malt throughline while adding a dimension of spice--again, it's hard to pin down. Seems like allspice or orange zest, possibly a tease of cinnamon, maybe even clove. Not particularly hoppy, and this is supposedly an APA--an American pale ale. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This isn't a bad little brewery, but they have some work to do.

This is a solid brew, but it's not perfect. They call it an APA because it's brewed with cascade hops, but it's brewed with a couple other varieties of hops as well. And they weren't that conspicuous. That could be a good or bad thing, of course. 

Per the label, this was "brewed 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle." The Arctic Circle passes through . . . Iceland--well, Icelandic waters, anyway. In other words, they're just saying it's brewed in Iceland. I love marketing people.




GRADE:   B

REVIEW 162: 21ST BIRTHDAY IPA

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Downingtown, PA!)

BREWERY:  Victory Brewing Company

STYLE:  IPA

ABV:  6.1%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 12-oz. bottles, $15.00

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. Heady as hell from the bottle. Initial head of over three full inches with a standard pour. A faster pour yielded a head that took up almost the entire glass. Even a slower pour resulted in more than two inches. Outstanding retention.

APPEARANCE:  Light gold color and foggy. Densely packed white head. Faint bubbling, overshadowed by the suspended particles; reminiscent of another Victory brew, Golden Monkey. Prominent but somewhat uneven lacing.

AROMA:  Oh you know, the usual hop-citrus, hybrid aroma of an IPA. This one was a bit floral as well.

TASTE:  That hop-citrus dichotomy starts and last right through the finish, taste-wise; straightforward mouthfeel. Fairly easygoing and even a bit light-feeling, particularly for a six-percenter. No crescendos. No emergences. No surprises. Most complex part of the experience lies in the aftertaste: Somewhat lemony, a little sweet (a la Sweet-n-Low), with a slight uptick in bitterness. Sneaky carbonation. Almost shandy-like in its overall palate.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Another good-but-not-great offering from Victory, who in this reviewer's opinion, is really beginning to resemble Sam in that regard. And I'm always--ALWAYS--wary of the "anniversary" theme assigned to certain beers, as I am to any kind of "special edition." In my experience, none of them ever match the best and brightest of their respective breweries.

But it's still a Victory. (See what I did there? Give it a minute.) Victory's beers are kind of like Hitchcock films; most aren't masterpieces--even if that's what their creator is known for--but they're all at least markedly above average. You really can't go wrong. And I'm sorry for the cliché.




GRADE:  B

REVIEW 161: GOOSE IPA (REVISITED)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Chicago)

BREWERY:  Goose Island Beer Company

STYLE:  IPA

ABV:  5.9%

PURCHASE:  Six-pack of 12-oz. bottles, $11.99

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. An almost three-inch head from both a normal and slower pour. Outstanding retention.

APPEARANCE:  Rocky white head atop a transparent, golden body. Visually, could almost pass for a pilsner or Helles. Conspicuous bubbling. Excellent lacing.

AROMA:  What we have here is an IPA that isn't all hops all the time! They're nicely held in check by floral and citrus notes--namely grapefruit--as well as malt. Bready for an IPA.

TASTE:  Hoppy onset--what else do you expect? Sweet overall mouthfeel. Malty undertones. As with the aroma, the hops are not overly aggressive; instead, they are rounded out by mostly citrus notes. Packs a grapefruit wallop at the back. Aftertaste seems, for the most part, evenly split 50/50 between hops and grapefruit, with some yeast and bitter orange sneaking in there at the very, very end.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  In my original review, I concluded that this is a beer that "flirted with greatness," or something to that effect. That was the draft version. 

It's a bit better in the bottle. 

Goose Island is one of those breweries that's never categorized in the top of the heap by the online beer snob community, perhaps rightly so. But I find them sorely underrated. They have their share of misfires, but their flagship IPA, while not quite elite, certainly hits the target. I'm bumping this one up a notch.



ORIGINAL GRADE:  B+

NEW GRADE:  A-

A Minor Change . . .

I have concluded that "bouquet" and "palate" are pretentious terms that make me sound like a friggin' snob. They will now be replaced, respectively, by "aroma" and "taste" in the template for each review.

"Bouquet" and "palate" are for wine drinkers. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

--Crock

I'm Sorry

So very sorry. But don't worry. 

Beer reviews resume later this week! WOO-HOO!

In the meantime . . . GO PREDS!!!

REVIEW 160: SAMUEL ADAMS FRESH AS HELLES

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts)

BREWERY:  Boston Beer Company

STYLE:  Munich Helles Lager

ABV:  5.4%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $5.50

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. Not the "headiest" beer on tap; not even half an inch, which quickly left the building.

APPEARANCE:  Golden and transparent. Standard white/off-white crown. Faint bubbling. Lacing is scattered at it's most prominent, but mostly nonexistent. 

BOUQUET:  Orangey above all else. Malty as well. Not much of a hop note. Rounded out mainly by orange zest and coriander. Smells like a witbier crossed with an orange scone.

PALATE:  Again, it's citrusy--mainly in the form of orange--above all else. This isn't the norm for a helles, at least in my experience. Minimal hops. Malty through-line. Slightly heavy body on the whole, with the usual degree of carbonation. Slightly spicy finish--again, like a witbier, with orange zest and coriander most noticeable. A hint of pepper and of all things, honey--although this could be a placebo effect on my part. Aftertaste carries on these same traits, but becomes somewhat lemony at the very end.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  "Helles" is a German word. It means "bright." Visually, this was indeed that. 

Helles lagers were originally developed in Munich--hence the term, "Munich helles lager"--as a response to the increasing popularity of Czech- and Bohemian-style pilsners amongst German beer consumers. This is the trend we have to thank for brews like Höfbrau and Löwenbrau. 

Sam's version, however, could almost pass for Blue Moon. It's got more depth, though, so I can forgive the identity crisis.




GRADE:   B

REVIEW 159: MICHELOB

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (St. Louis)

BREWERY:  Anheuser-Busch

STYLE:  Pale Lager

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Case of 24 12-oz. bottles, $25.99

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. A normal pour produced your typical head of not quite an inch, which disappeared fairly quickly. A fast pour didn't get much more, though it stuck around much longer even considering the "extra." Head retention isn't the calling card for any beer from Anheuser-Busch anyway.

APPEARANCE:  Golden, as opposed to straw, body, with the usual see-through quality. Your typical sudsy white head. Prominent bubbling. Almost no lacing.

BOUQUET:  Bready but with a faint hop note. Not much else. Except water.

PALATE:  Middle-of-the-road mouthfeel with quick-setting carbonation. Grainy for the most part, especially early on. A tease of hops creeps in toward the otherwise yeasty finish. Slight hop reemergence in the aftertaste. Strong alcohol character at the end--fusel, like a malt liquor--despite being an average 5% beer. Could almost pass for Colt 45 under the right conditions.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Introduced by A-B co-founder Adolphus Busch in 1896 as a beer for "connoisseurs," Michelob really is a pale lager, as opposed to an adjunct lager; the malt proportion is "all-malt," with no rice, corn, or other adjuncts added. That's what distinguishes it from Budweiser. Perhaps that's why I always found it to be the best of the Anheuser-Busch lineup--whatever that's worth--at least until Shock Top came along.

You know what else distinguishes it from Budweiser--or, used to? The bottle. Who didn't love that bottle back in the day? They called it a "teardrop." I always thought of it as a lava lamp. I wish they'd bring it back. Now it's just like any other beer bottle out there. Another win for conformity.





GRADE:   C+

REVIEW 158: MUDBANK MILK STOUT

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Croydon, PA!)

BREWERY:  Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

STYLE:  Milk Stout*

*Per the brewery's website, brewed with oats. Could be therefore classified as an oatmeal stout.

ABV:  6.5%

PURCHASE:  22-oz. bottle, $10.99

SERVING:  Said bottle, poured into Guinness branded imperial pint glass. Like many stouts, not very heady with a steady pour. This got maybe, maybe, half an inch with a normal pour from the bottle, which withered away in seconds. A faster pour, however, got some and then some more: Two and a half inches (or thereabouts). Congratulations. On that go-round, retention was solid but unspectacular. 

APPEARANCE:  Dark, dark brown bordering upon black--it's a freakin' stout. Tannish-beige head. Faint bubbling. Lacing is scattery at first, then better on the second pour, but dies anyway. 

BOUQUET:  Mostly oaty and malty. Caramel, chocolate, and berry-like fruit essences round things out. A hint of toffee seems evident as well.

PALATE:  Scratch the berry. I couldn't taste any. The toffee is also arguable, at best. Everything else was there, tempered by mild hop notes. Expertly balanced. Slightly heavier than average body, but smooth and inviting. Carbonation is timid at first, but becomes cola-like if held. Relatively sweet mouthfeel from start to finish, though in varying degrees. Finish is equally sweet and roasty. Chocolatey aftertaste--best part of a beer with a lot of contenders for "best part."

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This was as addictive as your favorite junk food, and that, my friends, is the mark of a truly great beer. I couldn't stop drinking this tonight; I had to re-up almost immediately after every single sip, even toward the end of the session. 

I downed two 22-oz. bottles of this while listening to classic Guns N' Roses songs, and therein lies a fitting analogy. Like GNR, this isn't something you're into right away. But you force yourself to try it, then try it again, then again, and at some point . . . you're hooked. The other music out there just doesn't measure up. 

I actually started writing the final part of this review as "Patience" came on. Which is my advice for those of you who are put off by stouts. Give this one a chance, and "just use a little patience."

Yet another winner for Neshaminy Creek, yet another outstanding Philly-area brewery. 




GRADE:  A

REVIEW 157: WHIZBANG HOPPY BLONDE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Fort Collins, Colorado)

BREWERY:  New Belgium Brewing

STYLE:  Blonde Ale

ABV:  5.7%

PURCHASE:  Draft (60-oz. pitcher), $10.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. Roughly one-inch head in the pitcher. Normal pour from pitcher to glass yielded a short-lived head of about half an inch. A fast pour, however, got almost three full inches. Who let the dogs out?

APPEARANCE:  Pale golden in color, with a typical off-white head. Narrow bubbling visible. Very good, consistent lacing.

BOUQUET:  Comes off like a pale ale--which it is at the end of the day, I suppose. Balanced between malted barley and noble hops, with some citrus thrown in. 

PALATE:  Comes off like a pale ale--which it is at the end of the day, I suppose. But it's a little underwhelming. Malty early on, giving way to a prominent noble hops bitterness fairly quickly. Joined at the finish by a generic citrus factor. Aftertaste seems dominated by a lemony and grapefruity note. Average in terms of texture and "fillingness." Soft carbonation that takes a while to assert itself. What's there is agreeable--I say this about a lot of beers, I know--but it just seems to be missing something. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  So what's a "whizbang" anyway? Merriam-Webster defines it, first and foremost, as "one that is conspicuous for noise, speed, excellence, or startling effect."

Google defines it as "a resounding success." Apparently, it also refers to a "small-caliber, high-velocity shell" in wide use during the First World War.

Urban Dictionary adds yet another "street" definition:  A mixture of heroin and cocaine known for its "one-two punch" effect on the user.  Yet another was the urgent need to urinate.

It was this last definition that fit this beer best. I'm about to go for the third time since finishing the pitcher.

GRADE:  C+

REVIEW 156: RUAIDRI IRISH RED ALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Hatboro, PA!)

BREWERY:  Crooked Eye Brewery

STYLE:  Irish Red Ale

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Draft (60-oz. pitcher), $12.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. Not particularly heady from the tap. However, from the pitcher to the glass, a normal pour produced a head of two full inches. A slower pour actually got three. Very good retention. 

APPEARANCE:  Auburn-henna-mahogany body with a beige-cream head. No real visible bubbling. Prominent lacing, though it was more of a partial blanket than actual laces.

BOUQUET:  Malty, with strong presence of caramel and appleskins (like Newcastle). Lightly hopped. Seeming hints of toffee, cinnamon, and possibly allspice. 

PALATE:  Average body in terms of fillingness. Carbonation is mostly tame, but can sneak up on you. Early on, highly malty but doesn't pack a whole lot of punch overall. Fills out toward the end. Tea-like finish, with an immediate aftertaste that is equal parts dry, bitter, and yeasty, as well as heavy on the appleskin. As with the aroma, there seems to be a trace of subdued cinnamon or allspice, and becomes witbier-like at the far end with a placebo note of coriander. This is supposedly brewed with toffee, but I couldn't really make that out as I seemed to in the aroma.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  "Ruaidri," is the Scottish-Gaelic origin of the name "Rory." It means "Red King." Fitting for an Irish . . . red . . . ale.

The beer itself is a noble effort, if not exactly royalty. I rank it accordingly.




GRADE:   B-

Rory Macdonald, the "Red King" of UFC.

REVIEW 155: PERONI NASTRO AZZURO

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Italy

BREWERY:  Birra Peroni Industriale S. p. A.

STYLE:  Pale Lager

ABV:  5.1%

PURCHASE:  12-pack of 11.2-oz. bottles, $17.99

SERVING:  11.2-oz. bottle, poured into Peroni branded pilsner glass.  Initially very heady (over four inches). A slower pour didn't get much less. Great retention for a macrolager.

APPEARANCE:  The standard see-through straw body with the standard sudsy white head. Normal, visible bubbling. No real lacing around the glass; just the occasional splotch.

BOUQUET:  Balanced, mellow aroma that mostly sticks to the tried-and-true hop-malt dichotomy, but with a little husk to it.

PALATE:  Borders upon light beer territory. Mellow carbonation with a somewhat thin feel. Malty and a bit sweet upon entry. Delivers what the aroma promised: An even hop-malt split, for the most part, both in tempered proportions, and with husky overtones. Finishes on a slight accent of yeast. Goes down like Stella, right down to the slightly metallic aftertaste.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Originally founded by the namesake Peroni family in Lombardy, Italy in 1846. Giovanni Peroni then moved the brewery to Rome in 1864, six years before that city became the capital. Today? It's owned by Asahi, after being sold by SABMiller. Passed around the macrobrewery carousel like a second-rate coed. 

It's the most recognized beer brand in its home country . . . which means fuck-all when it comes to actual quality. The name "Nastro Azzuro" translates to "blue ribbon" in English, but this is far from a prize winner. Bleh.




GRADE:  C-

REVIEW 154: SAMUEL ADAMS HOPSCAPE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA (Massachusetts)

BREWERY:  The Boston Beer Company

STYLE:  Pale Wheat Ale

ABV:  5.5%

PURCHASE:  Draft (60-oz. pitcher), $10.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. (Glass allowed to warm over time.) Initially heady from tap to pitcher. From pitcher to glass, however, not even half an inch of head from a normal pour. A faster pour got a little more than an inch. Solid retention.

APPEARANCE:  See-through but hazy. Golden-orange, "sunrise"-colored body. Off-white head. Not much visible bubbling. Outstanding lacing.

BOUQUET:  Prominent citrus presence, mainly grapefruit. Lightly hoppy. Seeming traces of wheat. Hard to pick up anything else.

PALATE:  Juicy--if I had to describe this in one word, that's it. Tastes almost like a shandy. Fairly smooth. Carbonation is shy at first but becomes a force if held just a few seconds. Starts on an unassertive note. At mid-palate, it decides it wants to he hoppy. Finishes with some zest, mainly from grapefruit bitterness. Hop bitterness lingers at that point as well. Aftertaste is a tad yeasty and carries a hint of coriander. Not much in the way of malt or grain . . . particularly wheat.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This is classified, officially, as a pale wheat ale. The problem is, it doesn't really taste that way. Where's the wheat?

On the whole, this came off as a beer that is simply not fully fleshed out. It supposedly is brewed with four different kinds of hops--but they don't make much of a presence. Grapefruit comes as advertised, but is held too much in check, almost to the point where you could mistake it for orange or lemon. That all said, it's very, very, very easy to drink. The taste is no less agreeable--a hallmark of most beers in the Sam lineup. 

But that's kind of what irks me here. It seems to me that Sam has been settling lately. Too many of their recent offerings have been just okay, or "good but not great." They seem to be playing it too safe. Reminds me of a great Johnny Rotten quote:  "I would much rather be loved or hated than just 'alright' or 'nice.'" Sam fits Mr. Rotten's latter description, lately.




GRADE:   B-

REVIEW 153: TRIPEL HORSE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  River Horse Brewing Company

STYLE:  Tripel

ABV:  10.0%

PURCHASE:  Draft (13-oz.), $7.00

SERVING:  Tulip glass. Not very heady. From the tap, half an inch at the most. Not much retention.

APPEARANCE:  Golden-caramel colored body, with the usual whitish head. Conspicuous bubbling at the outset. Almost no lacing at all.

BOUQUET:  On the surface, a seeming hybrid of malt and citrus, namely orange. Spicy undertones, particularly clove, coriander, orange zest, and a seeming touch of pepper.

PALATE:  The usual carbonation, and a body that goes down easily for a ten-percenter. Starts malty, remains malty. But midway, the citrus takes hold, and matches the malt through the yeasty finish. Sweet aftertaste. Not much spice discernible, which is surprising given that it was makeable in the aroma. Could stand to be more multi-dimensional. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Another in a long line of good-but-not-great brews from River Horse. 

This is brewed with three kinds of hops, but none were particularly noticeable. 

As for the name, it was inevitable. River Horse, Tripel Horse; easy enough. There is Triple Horse Studios, in Atlanta; however, the New Jersey brewery predates the film studio by thirteen years.




GRADE:   B

REVIEW 152: LINE STREET PILSNER

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Weyerbacher Brewing Company

STYLE:  Pilsener

ABV:  5.3%

PURCHASE:  Draft (60-oz. pitcher), $12.00

SERVING:  Said pitcher, poured into chilled pint glass. Not particularly heady straight from the tap; only roughly an inch in the pitcher itself, and slightly less than that from pitcher to pint with a typical pour. A slower pour actually got roughly 50% more. Very good retention.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent but initially a bit murky. Golden-straw color to the body; off-white head. Very, very little bubbling. Great lacing.

BOUQUET:  Hoppy for a pilsener--this is a Czech-style pilsener, which are known for this, unlike their German counterparts. A bit bready, with subdued notes of citrus and malt.

PALATE:  Mildly carbonated with a smooth mouthfeel. Starts somewhat malty, but quickly gets hoppier--but not too much; this isn't an IPA, after all. Finishes still hoppy, but with an accompanying tinge of citrus--namely lemon and grapefruit--and a crescendo of yeast. The aftertaste is somewhat toasty and bitter, with a very subtle spiciness--though it's hard to pinpoint.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Good stateside pilsener. I usually leave this style to our brothers across the Atlantic, particularly in Germany, as they seem to remain its masters. But this one gives me hope for the American microbrewery. 

The name "Line Street" refers to the address of the Weyerbacher brewery in Easton, Pennsylvania. 




GRADE:   B

REVIEW 151: FOSTER'S LAGER (REVISITED)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA/Australia

BREWERY:  Foster's Group Limited

STYLE:  Adjunct Lager

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Draft (22-oz.), $6.25

SERVING:  Chilled tankard. Standard inch-high head from the tap. So-so retention.

APPEARANCE:  Adjunct straw. White head. Shocking. Not very visible bubbling--but that could be the glass at play. (It was a thick tankard.) Pretty good lacing, though.

BOUQUET:  Somewhat bready with a whiff of yeast. Not much else going on.

PALATE:  Middle-of-the road body, middle-of-the-road carbonation. Decent hop-malt balance, particularly for an adjunct. Slightly lemony finish--seriously--which was something I didn't notice in the canned version. Yeasty aftertaste but not overly dry. Not a mind-blowing palatial experience, but makes for effortless drinking. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  In my first review for Foster's, I compared it to Outback Steakhouse. For my follow-up tonight, I had it on draft . . . at Outback Steakhouse. 

My opinion of both remains the same. Foster's is still better than average for an adjunct lager, underrated by hipsters and beer snobs. And Outback is still not a real Australian restaurant. 




ORIGINAL GRADE:   C+

NEW GRADE:  C+

REVIEW 150: NUGGET NECTAR

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Tröegs Brewing Company

STYLE:  Amber Ale

ABV:  7.5%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $7.00

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. From the tap, a little more than an inch of head on the first beer. On the second, a little less. Very good retention in any case.

APPEARANCE:  Fairly see-through but eye-catching amber body. Off-white head bordering upon beige territory. Very little in the way of visible bubbling. Lacing is initially prominent as well as consistent, but doesn't hold.

BOUQUET:  Well-balanced aroma that toes the line between hops and malt. Ever so slightly doughy.

PALATE:  Mild carbonation. Moderately filling. As with the aroma, this is a very well-balanced mouthfeel. Starts hoppy, and while that part of it doesn't go away, each sip gets maltier toward the end. Roasty finish, with an aftertaste that sees a resurgence of hops. Not a particularly complicated palate, but one whose execution is simple but superb.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  This is a sterling example of how not to overdo it during the brewing process.

Which leads me to the following question: Does the country's finest amber ale hail from Hershey, Pennsylvania? I can't say just yet. But it's clearly a contender.




GRADE:  A

REVIEW 149: GOLDEN PHEASANT

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Slovak Republic

BREWERY:  Pivovar Zlatý Bažant a.s.

STYLE:  Pilsner

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  16.9-oz. bottle, $2.99

SERVING:  Said bottle, poured into Peroni branded pilsner glass. Very, very heady out of the bottle. Even a slow pour produced an initial head of almost four full inches in the pilsner glass. Excellent retention.

APPEARANCE:  Color-wise, it lives up to its name; it's, well, golden. More translucent than transparent, at least at first. Very bright white head. Very little bubbling visible. Lacing is initially somewhat prominent but has no staying power.

BOUQUET:  Freshly rolled grains, namely barley and wheat--although the latter could be a placebo effect at work. Lightly hopped and malty. Slightly citrusy.

PALATE:  Very smooth mouthfeel; goes down with no effort. Soft carbonation and a body that borders upon light. Europe really does have better water. Starts like your typical Euro-lager: Notes of rounded grain, a little biscuity. Finishes with a slight hop uptick, and features a lemon-rind aftertaste. Not a particularly complex palate; simple but effective.  

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Underrated by the online beer snob community. This is a very, very good representative of the "Czech pilsner" style. One of those beers that keeps it simple but does it well. 

FYI: The beer itself is actually named after the brewery that makes it. "Zlatý Bažant" is Slovak for "golden pheasant." At any rate, Heineken has owned them since 1995. Whatever that's worth.




GRADE:  B+

So many colors . . . yet it's a "golden" pheasant.

REVIEW 148: O'DOUL'S

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Anheuser-Busch

STYLE:  Low-Alcohol Beer

ABV:  Less than 0.5%

PURCHASE:  Case of 24 12-oz. bottles, $25.47

SERVING:  12-oz. bottle, poured into pint glass. Pours like a light beer. Barely a half an inch of head with a normal pour, maybe 3/4" with a faster pour. Head retention is a joke.

APPEARANCE:  Looks like a light beer. Very pale, very clear straw color with a run-of-the-mill white head. Steady bubbling. Absolutely no lacing.

BOUQUET:  Surprisingly, this beer has some husk to it. A little grassy, too. Not much besides that, though.

PALATE:  Goes down like a light beer. It's mildly carbonated with a fairly thin body. Straight-ahead palate from start to swallow: Mainly seltzer. Not much actual beer character until the aftertaste, which is dry and grainy but seems to end on an ever-so-barely-there hoppy note, all while retaining a seltzer feel.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  I remember the original tagline for O'Doul's back in the day: "It's what beer drinkers drink when they're not drinking beer." I'm a beer drinker. When I'm not drinking beer, I drink . . . whiskey.

That said, it's truthfully better than A-B's worst, and on a par with your standard American light beer. I rank it accordingly.

Is it possible to get drunk on O'Doul's without bursting your bladder? Just curious.




GRADE:   D

REVIEW 147: HARPOON IPA

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Harpoon Brewery & Beer Hall

STYLE:  IPA

ABV:  5.9%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $5.75

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. Usual head of roughly 3/4" to one full inch. Better than average retention.

APPEARANCE:  Rusted copper body with the expected effervescent white head. Fairly see-through. Bubbling barely visible. Outstanding lacing around the glass.

BOUQUET:  Not particularly hoppy for an IPA. A little grassy, a little malty, and a little citrusy, but tame in all three respects. The citrus notes in play seem to be lemon, maybe orange.

PALATE:  Not particularly hoppy for an IPA. Comes off more as a pale ale than as an India pale ale. Not too heavy and ideally carbonated. Tempered all-around mouthfeel, with a malty backbone and citrusy finish--again, seemingly lemon and orange, not grapefruit-like as is the case with scores of IPAs these days. One of the least bitter IPAs I've personally ever tasted; actually seems more on the sweet side, particularly in the aftertaste. Very well balanced and extremely smooth. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  I've found Harpoon's beers to be hit-or-miss, but their flagship IPA is a winner. Great beer for an uncharacteristically 65-degree January day in Philly. 

Hopheads might balk at it. Haven't they ever heard that great things come in moderation? 




GRADE:   A

REVIEW 146: COUNTY LINE IPA

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Neshaminy Creek Brewing Company

STYLE:  IPA

ABV:  6.6%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $5.75

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. Standard 3/4"-1" head from the tap. Decent retention.

APPEARANCE:  Transparent rusty-caramel color with the expected sudsy white head. Barely any visible bubbling. Outstanding lacing.

BOUQUET:  Hops are rounded out with nice caramel malt and subtle citrus aromas. A little bready.

PALATE:  Moderately filling body. Perfectly carbonated. Hops set in immediately but don't attack you as with some IPAs; rather, entry is a bit malty with the hops blending in toward the finish. They yield to citrus essences of grapefruit and, to a lesser degree, lemon zest in the somewhat yeasty aftertaste. Makes for a pleasantly bittersweet end note. 

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  County Line IPA is the flagship IPA from Neshaminy Creek, named for the main roadway that divides Bucks and Montgomery Counties just outside Philadelphia. In fact, the brewery itself was almost named County Line, before settling upon Neshaminy Creek. 

As for the beer, hopheads rejoice!  Hops will always be the calling card of the IPA, and this one boasts five different varieties of them. 

GRADE:  B+

REVIEW 145: ST. BERNARDUS TRIPEL

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Belgium

BREWERY:  Brouwerij St. Bernardus NV

STYLE:  Tripel

ABV:  8.0%

PURCHASE:  25.4-oz. bottle, $13.99

SERVING:  Said bottle, poured into St. Bernardus branded snifter. In the snifter, not much head. Pours of varying speeds all resulted in less than an inch, with not much in the way of retention.*

APPEARANCE:  Hazy, golden-orange body with a slightly off-white, sudsy head. Very, very faint bubbling. Visible flecks of "floating" yeast. No lacing.

BOUQUET:  Malty, with a significant sucrose presence--likely a result of Belgian candy sugar. Pressed grains and slight citrus notes--namely orange and possibly a tinge of lemon--also evident. Not overly complex but extremely inviting.

PALATE:  Significant carbonation that starts moderately enough, but can become sharp and biting if held even a tad too long, if the beer is consumed too cold. (As it warms, it gets better all around, but especially in this department.) Drinkability is still a breeze. Fairly simple front palate of malt and grain, somewhat sweet. A bit phenolic and yeasty in the finish with emerging citrus zest. Aftertaste is a bit hoppy with a renewed sweetness. Very well balanced; ultra-smooth mouthfeel.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Arguably an elite beer like another St. Bernardus stalwart, the Abt. 12. What American tripels should aspire to be. 

The key to drinking a lot--maybe even most--of these abbey beers is to pay attention to temperature. 45-50 degrees is what you want here, not 35-40 as you would, say, a Coors Light. I learned that lesson the hard way once upon a time. Don't get me wrong. Consuming this at too cold a temperature will not ruin the experience, but it will certainly compromise it.

Do it correctly, and you've got an All-Star here.

*What a difference temperature, in addition to a change in glassware, truly makes. I experimented over two nights with this. The photo at the top was my "official" review, in the St. Bernardus snifter. The following night, I consumed another bottle after taking it out of the refrigerator--located in my garage--and allowing it to sit in the January air for several hours while I was at work. I also used a Chimay chalice (pictured below) instead of the snifter. The result was more subdued carbonation, an even better balanced taste, and . . . head!




GRADE:   A